A Circuit Court in Tema has sentenced two police officers to a combined 13 years in prison for unlawful possession and conspiracy to traffic narcotics.

The court, presided over by Her Lordship Aleanor Kakra Barnes Botchway, convicted Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Nasiru Amadu and Corporal Emmanuel Mintah after nearly four years of trial.

According to the prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ernest Kuofie, the case began in 2023 when an officer at the Afienya District Police Command reported suspicious activities involving the two accused officers.

Amadu, 48, was at the time the second-in-command at the Sakumono District Police Headquarters, while Mintah, 43, served under him as a service driver.

On November 19, 2023, officers on snap-check duty received intelligence that a Nissan Navara with registration number GP 727 was transporting narcotics from Ho to Accra. At about 7:15 p.m. the same day, the accused officers arrived at the checkpoint and were intercepted. A search of their vehicle uncovered eight sacks containing 541 compressed parcels of substances suspected to be narcotics.

Further investigations revealed that Mintah had a relative, known as “Oluman,” a resident of Ashaiman Tulaku and a known narcotics dealer. On the day of the incident, Mintah had been hired by Oluman to transport Indian hemp from Peki Tsibu in the Volta Region to Tulaku. Mintah then contacted Amadu, who also communicated with Oluman to finalize the arrangement.

After agreeing on the terms, the two officers drove vehicle GP 727 from Sakumono to a forest near Peki Tsibu, where they received the drugs from a waiting Benz bus. They were arrested while transporting the substances. It was later established that this was the second time the officers had engaged in such illegal activity.

The seized exhibits were examined and confirmed by the Forensic Crime Laboratory.

The court held that the officers unlawfully possessed narcotics for trafficking, in violation of Section 23(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960, and Section 37(2)(b) of the Narcotic Control Commission Act, 2020 (Act 1019).

Both convicts were sentenced to 5 and 10 years in prison respectively, to run concurrently. They were also fined 10,000 penalty units (GH₵120,000). Failure to pay the fine will result in an additional three-year jail term each.